Flame Seal, Activate!

Xiao Yan narrowed his black eyes slightly. Grabbing one in each hand, he swung his arms in wide arcs and hurled them at the mercenaries on both sides. Yet they were not particularly fast, and every mercenary could see them.

"What?!" Hemon was greatly shocked. If not for his brothers shielding him yesterday, along with the extremely defensive Rock Dou Qi he cultivated, he would not have emerged unscathed.

Had either condition been absent, he would have been severely injured. No one understood the power of those things better than he did.

Dou Qi surfaced over Hemon's body as he retreated again and again. Even though he was not the main target of this attack, he did not dare let down his guard.

The miserable sight of his brothers being blown apart yesterday was still vivid in their minds. The mercenaries had long become skittish birds; upon seeing the red streaks flying toward them, they scattered in all directions, wishing their parents had given them two more legs.

The instant he threw the stone balls, Xiao Yan pulled up the Black Heavy Ruler before him, then grabbed the plain saber the burly mercenary had left unused. Stomping hard on the ground, he pounced at the scattering mercenaries like a tiger entering the forest.

The mercenaries had yet to recover from their fright. Who could have imagined that this man would be so ferocious? The things were about to explode, yet he still dared charge into their midst!

Xiao Yan's ruler was fast, but his saber was even faster. In a flash, as though chopping watermelons, he took down another five mercenaries!

With the number of his brothers rapidly dwindling, Hemon's heart trembled. A huge question surfaced in his mind: Why haven't they exploded yet?

The corner of his eye caught the red object nailed to a wooden post in the camp, and Hemon's pupils suddenly contracted!

Looking closely, Hemon realized that it was merely a stone smeared with blood. It was not yesterday's terrifying explosive at all!

"You dare toy with the Wolf Head Mercenary Group like this? I'll kill you!"

His overwhelming advantage had been utterly destroyed by such a small trick. Consumed by rage, Hemon stomped fiercely on the ground and charged at Xiao Yan like a massive magical beast, rampaging forward without restraint.

Sensing a powerful force rushing at him from behind, Xiao Yan fiercely flung the plain saber in his hand. Driven by immense strength, it shot forward like a sharp arrow, piercing straight through the heart of a fleeing mercenary with a wet thud.

Immediately afterward, Xiao Yan spun around neatly and threw a punch, colliding heavily with the sandbag-sized fist that was rapidly enlarging in his black eyes.

Bang!

With a muffled impact, Xiao Yan had not been able to muster his full strength in his haste. He was sent stumbling back five steps before gradually steadying himself.

"You really do have some skill, brat." Solemnity appeared on Hemon's face as he slowly exhaled. He thumped his chest with his fist, and his originally bronze skin gradually turned somewhat pale.

"I cultivate the Rock Technique, known for possessing the strongest defense among all attributes. Even at your peak, you could not break through my defense. Now that your Dou Qi is exhausted, pay for my brothers' lives!"

With a cold laugh, Hemon clenched his fist. Even his arm took on a pale color.

Having personally exchanged blows with Xiao Yan, Hemon could not help but be surprised by the strength of his physical body.

One had to know that the hardship of cultivating the body was far beyond that of merely cultivating Dou Qi. Looking at Xiao Yan's fair, delicate appearance, Hemon found it difficult to imagine that Xiao Yan was also someone who trained his body.

To ensure every strike landed, Xiao Yan had concentrated his essence, energy, and spirit to their utmost with each attack. After taking down several mercenaries in succession, his Dou Qi was nearly depleted and his mind was somewhat fatigued. His condition truly was not very good now.

After taking a heavy breath, Xiao Yan smiled disdainfully. "You only figured that out now? No matter how strong you are, you're still nothing but a stupid pig. Killing you will take no more than the flick of a finger."

Knowing that his opponent still had more than ten mercenaries, Xiao Yan naturally had not come here recklessly.

He had devised his strategy on the way. He absolutely could not let the mercenaries group together and attack him at once; he had to find a way to split them apart.

Then Xiao Yan thought of the Flame Bullets that had worked quite well yesterday.

Naturally, he could not make real ones in such a short time. But couldn't he make some fakes to fill the gap?

After all, his purpose was merely to scatter the mercenaries, not to create something capable of defeating the enemy.

It was extremely easy to find blood-red dye in the Magical Beast Mountains, though round stones were not so easy to find. It took him some effort.

And so, the two "Flame Bullets" were born.

Even Yao Lao had been shocked by Xiao Yan's cunning at the time!

"What a sharp-tongued brat!" Hemon stomped on the ground again. With a livid expression, he was clearly much faster than before this time, his savage speed generating bursts of wind pressure.

Calmly feeling the fierce wind pressure rushing toward him, Xiao Yan's exceptional soul perception made Hemon's attack seem as slow as a crawling turtle.

Xiao Yan shifted his body slightly, and the enormous fist carrying fierce force swept past his ear at an angle.

With a light scrape of his toes against the ground, Xiao Yan ghosted around behind Hemon. His Dou Qi-infused fist slammed heavily into Hemon's spine.

Eight Extremes Collapse!

At the cold shout in his heart, Xiao Yan's fist abruptly tensed. His smooth sleeve fluttered loudly from the violent force.

His fist drew back, then suddenly shot forward. Though the distance was short, the ferocious power carried upon it produced a sharp whistling sound through the air.

Clang! When the fist struck Hemon's body, it produced a crisp sound like striking rock.

"You think you can break my rock defense in your current state?" Hemon sneered smugly as his right leg, carrying fierce force, lashed heavily backward. At the same time, he shouted at the stunned mercenaries, "This brat's Dou Qi is exhausted! Why aren't you attacking?!"

At Hemon's furious shout, the remaining five mercenaries abruptly steadied themselves. Seeing that the Third Commander had already fought Xiao Yan for some time, they finally realized that they had been fooled.

There had originally been more than ten mercenaries, yet in the blink of an eye only six remained. Realizing they were in a dire situation, all five mercenaries unleashed the Dou Qi throughout their bodies.

In an instant, the five of them used the battle techniques they had mastered to near perfection.

For a time, the camp filled with multicolored Dou Qi. Five weapons—a saber, spear, sword, and axe—each carrying the force of wind and thunder, attacked Xiao Yan, who had been forced back by Hemon.

With his Dou Qi exhausted, the ordinary Eight Extremes Collapse had barely shown any effect. As Xiao Yan marveled at the strength of Rock Dou Qi's defense, he also sighed inwardly in regret. If he could have unleashed hidden force, Hemon would undoubtedly have died.

Sharp attacks came from behind. Xiao Yan nimbly shifted sideways and held the Black Heavy Ruler horizontally before him. Supporting the head of the ruler with one hand, he lifted it toward the sky as though it weighed nothing.

The five men's battle techniques crashed heavily onto the Black Heavy Ruler like five massive hammers striking down. The Black Heavy Ruler trembled violently, as though it might be knocked from Xiao Yan's hand at any moment.

Facing the full-force attacks of five experienced mercenaries, Xiao Yan used every ounce of strength he had to withstand them, his expression slightly ferocious.

"His Dou Qi really is exhausted!" Seeing Xiao Yan appear as though he could no longer hold on at any moment, Hemon cried out excitedly.

Though the five mercenaries had failed to succeed in one blow, discovering that Xiao Yan's Dou Qi was exhausted greatly invigorated them.

Without Dou Qi, Xiao Yan only had powerful weapons. They still had six men; Xiao Yan would be defeated sooner or later!

The corners of Xiao Yan's lips curled slightly upward as he shouted in a low voice, "Flame Seal, activate!"